Bicycle rider's parents release statement following her death

CHICO — On Wednesday afternoon, Enloe Medical Center released a statement from the parents of 21-year-old Kristina Chesterman, Dave and Sandra.

Kristina Chesterman, a Chico State University nursing student, was declared brain dead Tuesday after being struck in a hit-and-run incident late Sunday evening while riding her bicycle in the Nord Avenue bike lane.

The alleged driver, Riley Hoover, 19, of Ohio, was formally charged Wednesday on a felony count of vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated with the special allegation of fleeing the scene. He also faces a felony count of possessing marijuana for sale.

Here is the statement from Chesterman's parents:

Dave and Sandra Chesterman have prepared the following statement about their daughter, Kristina Chesterman

The body of our daughter, Kristina Chesterman, lies upstairs at Enloe Medical Center waiting to be used to help other patients in need of organ donations. Her death certificate was signed yesterday afternoon after it was determined that her brain was so severely crushed in a brutal accident two days ago that it no longer was functioning. She was struck by a drunk driver while riding in the bicycle lane on her way home from studying for several hours at the Chico State library. She was pursuing her childhood dream of becoming a nurse and was on was well on her way to achieving that lifelong goal. She planned to spend the early years of her career as a nurse with the organization called Doctors Without Borders so she could help people in the poor and war-torn areas of the world receive needed care. She then planned to work at Stanford Hospital to continue to provide needed medical care and to help teach nursing to others.

Our daughter's dreams and hopes came to an abrupt end when she was struck by a car driven by a young man so drunk that he hit two parked cars after killing our daughter and could not even stand up when arrested a short time later. It is incomprehensible that the reckless act of a falling-down drunk could cut short the life of a beautiful, talented person who had so much to contribute to our world.

While we would want nothing more than for this man to spend the rest of his days behind bars, as any parents would, this would still pale in comparison to the tragic death of our beautiful daughter Kristina. However understanding that life in prison is not going to happen, we would urge the courts to at least impose the most severe sentence to help minimize the chance of another family from facing a similar tragedy again. A severe punishment for this senseless crime will not only keep this drunken driver off the streets but will deter others from getting behind the wheel when intoxicated. In that way, our daughter's death will have some meaning and will further her dream of helping others and improving our world.